Happy Birthday, EPS!

21-Jun-2017

June 20 was our official 125th birthday! On that day in 1892, Edmonton Mayor Matthew McCauley issued Bylaw #15, which gave town council the ability to assemble its own police force.

Chief Knecht, Councillor Scott McKeen, and many other dignitaries, retired members and employees came together at City Hall to celebrate with cake and an official proclamation of June 20 as Edmonton Police Service Day.

Special guests included Ted Collinson, a retired member who joined the EPS in 1953, before there were even Recruit Training Classes. “They sent me up to the chief’s office, I had an interview with him, they took me over to City Hall, swore me in as a police constable,” said Collinson. “Came back and picked up my uniform downtown and he says, ‘Can you start tonight?’”

Another veteran, Joan Crawford, spoke to reporters about her experience being one of the earliest women in the service when she joined in 1959. “I was number 15, of 15 ladies,” she said. “Later on when they renumbered us, I was number 4.”

Ted and Joan joined many employees in a group photo that showcased the wide variety of roles required to police a city of almost a million people.

Later that evening, the High Level bridge was lit up in blue and red to mark the occasion.